Documentary showcases grace and grit of the storied event

Movie theaters around the country may want to replace their soda and JuJuBees with Gatorade and PowerBars Tuesday night as runners descend for the one-day national screening of Hood To Coast, a documentary about the epic 197-mile relay race in Oregon that has spawned an entire industry of similar events nationwide.

HTC was conceived in 1982 by U of Oregon grad Bob Foote as something to break up the monotony of everyday 5K and 10K races. In the ensuing years, it has grown to 1,000 12-person teams, some very competitive and competent, others a bit less so.

In the course of just under two hours, the film follows a half dozen of these teams in the 2008 race, focusing not just on the actual running from the start at Mt. Hood to the finish at the Pacific Ocean in Seaside, but on the personalities and interaction of the dozen runners on each of the highlighted squads.

Among these are Dead Jocks in a Box, a group of accomplished masters who have never finished worse than sixth in their age group, giving them an automatic entry into the following year’s race. But while they’re competitive, they also use the event as an opportunity to return to their younger, less serious days and have as much fun as they can while racing through western Oregon in the middle of the night.

There are also some poignant backstories. Team R. Bowe is a group of family and friends of Ryan Bowe, an HTC veteran who died suddenly of a hidden cardiac condition just a year before the race. Heart N’ Sole is a group of masters women, led by Kathy Ryan, a veteran of a quarter century of racing including 17 HTCs. In 2007, Ryan suffered a massive heart attack during her third leg, but amazingly she returns to race again the following year, while trying to reconcile her mind’s desire with her body’s new limitations.

Finally, there is Thunder N’ Laikaning, a group of 20-something computer animators who enter the race with little experience or training, viewing it as a life experience rather than a competitive athletic event, as evidenced by team leader Jason Baldwin’s internal debate over whether an energy bar or a Whopper would make the best pre-race meal.

Hood To Coast is directed and produced by Christoph Baaden and Marcie Hume, two veterans of the film and TV industry. Baaden ran HTC in 2007 and was immediately inspired to make a film about the experience, and that background coupled with excellent cinematic skills make the resulting film one that will appeal to runners everywhere, whether they harbor a hidden desire to someday run this race or merely seek inspiration for their next run around the block.

Hood To Coast will have a limited showing on January 11 (1-11-11) at more than 350 theaters across the country. For locations and showtimes, click here. Jim Gerweck is RT's editor-at-large.